An electric terminal for a circuit board, having an insulating housing and a contact spring situated therein, is known from EP 0 735 616 A2. When the terminal is attached to the circuit board, the contact end of the contact spring is prestressed against a contact area of the circuit board. The terminal end of the contact spring facing away from the contact end is electrically connectable to a conductor assigned to the contact spring. The spring force makes the terminal end of the contact spring, which is simultaneously used for fixing the conductor in the terminal, directly electrically contact the conductor. Thus, the conductor must be pushed between the terminal end and the housing only against the spring force of the contact spring and is fixed by the clamping effect.
An electric terminal for connecting multiple electric conductors in which the contact spring may be brought into an opened and a closed state via an operating element is known from DE 41 02 784 A1. When the operating element is pushed into the housing, it is in the opened state, thereby pushing the contact spring into an opened state, so that the conductor to be connected may be inserted into the housing without resistance. No pressure is exerted on the operating element in its closed state, so that the operating element is pushed out of the housing by the spring force while the contact spring closes, fixing the conductor by the clamping effect.
Such an operating element has the disadvantage that an excessive pressure may push the operating element completely into the housing, so that the contact spring can no longer close. On the other hand, an excessive tension of the contact spring may push the operating element out of the housing.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an improved embodiment of the operating element for a terminal, which does not exhibit the disadvantages mentioned.